Eastern Siberian Research Articles

Analyzing the wettability changes of rocks in various states of core plugs

Current core plugs preparation standards for laboratory studies are developed for water-wet reservoirs and do not consider other types of wettability. Researching how different core preparation methods affect laboratory studies and wettability changes is relevant and important for petrophysical reserve estimation. Preconditions of doing this work was the question how core plugs impacts wettability changes in carbonate formations from several Eastern Siberian fields. The article describes the SCAL results of measuring the USBM wettability on core plugs at various states: a core plug with preserved saturation (before extraction), a core plug after extraction, and a core plug after wettability restoration. The authors showed how each of the stages of core plugs preparation affects wettability changes in rocks, the study of which is complicated by strong diagenetic changes: uneven salinization, bituminization, and anhydritization. The most accurate results were obtained from core plugs with preserved saturation. Overall, wettability of core plugs shifted towards a more hydrophilic state after extraction, but extraction did not fully change wettability from hydrophobic to hydrophilic.

Irkutsk regionalism as a trend of Soviet modernism

The article investigates the monuments of Irkutsk Soviet modernism and early postmodernism in order to reveal their identity and peculiarities, to determine the significance of these structures for the specific urban environment of the Eastern Siberian capital, as well as for the history of modern architecture as a research discipline. The research involved a review of bibliographic sources, a full-scale survey of objects belonging to the mentioned periods, and in-person interviews with the architects of the buildings under study and other Irkutsk citizens. Along with attracting interest to the urgent problems of cultural significance, objective assessment, and modern appearance of the heritage of the second half of the 20th century, the authors clarified the chronological framework of the main stages in the development of the modern city and provided a scientific definition of the Irkutsk regionalism term. As a result, it was established that the response to the challenges of the late Soviet years became a recognizable architectural segment, which, although rapturing the fabric of historical urban environment, reassembles it for functional aspiration for the future. The Irkutsk architecture, having an industrial beginning, has nevertheless remained authorial, and even uncompromising in the doctrines of Vladimir A. Pavlov and his followers, who supported his initiatives in the following era of postmodernism.

Rapid summer Russian Arctic sea-ice loss enhances the risk of recent Eastern Siberian wildfires

In recent decades boreal wildfires have occurred frequently over eastern Siberia, leading to increased emissions of carbon dioxide and pollutants. However, it is unclear what factors have contributed to recent increases in these wildfires. Here, using the data we show that background eastern Siberian Arctic warming (BAW) related to summer Russian Arctic sea-ice decline accounts for ~79% of the increase in summer vapor pressure deficit (VPD) that controls wildfires over eastern Siberia over 2004-2021 with the remaining ~21% related to internal atmospheric variability associated with changes in Siberian blocking events. We further demonstrate that Siberian blocking events are occurring at higher latitudes, are more persistent and have larger zonal scales and slower decay due to smaller meridional potential vorticity gradients caused by stronger BAW under lower sea-ice. These changes lead to more persistent, widespread and intense high-latitude warming and VPD, thus contributing to recent increases in eastern Siberian high-latitude wildfires.

Cryospheric and Oceanographic Evolution in the Arctic Makarov Basin Since the Early Pleistocene Revealed by Bulk Mineral Assemblages

AbstractWe present the glacial history of the Makarov Basin (western Arctic Ocean) during the last ∼1.1 Myr, with sediment provenances using the newly refined chronostratigraphy of core ARA03B‐41GC02. According to the principal component analysis of the bulk mineral assemblages, felsic minerals were dominant, and their ratios (K‐feldspar/plagioclase and quartz/feldspars) indicated that sediment supply to the Makarov Basin was mainly from the Siberian margin and partly from northern North America, including the Canadian Arctic. However, their occurrence did not vary significantly between interglacials and glacials due to the mixed sources. In contrast, clinopyroxene and dolomite indicated specific sediment origins from the eastern Siberian margin and northern North America, respectively. The clinopyroxene content followed an eccentricity cycle (∼100‐Kyr) during the early to middle Pleistocene, suggesting that the eustatic sea level changes may have influenced its input from the eastern Siberian margin. The dolomite, transported primarily by icebergs from the Arctic sector of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) in northern North America, has also followed the same cycle since the early Pleistocene. Thus, the mineralogical signals highlight that sediment origins and transport processes in the Makarov Basin were related to ice sheet evolution at the eccentricity cycle. In addition, dolomite deposition in the Makarov Basin began by the early Pleistocene (∼790 ka), ∼150 ka earlier than in previous North Atlantic records (∼640 ka), indicating the earlier LIS calving in the Arctic sector than in the Atlantic sector.

Two-Stage Model of Devonian Basic Magmatism in the Vilyui Paleorift (Siberian Platform)

Abstract —We report study results of basic intrusive bodies in the middle Paleozoic Vilyui paleorift (eastern Siberian Platform). Geochemical data for basic sills penetrated by boreholes in the rift’s dike swarms are presented, as well as our data on the time of formation of sills and dikes. We also studied mineral-hosted melt inclusions from a dolerite dike of the Vilyui–Markha dike swarm on the northwestern flank of the Vilyui paleorift. Data on the compositions of homogenous glasses of mineral-hosted melt inclusions yielded the P–T parameters of mantle sources of basic melts responsible for the formation of the Vilyui paleorift gabbro-dolerites. Two depth levels of basic melt generation have been established: 95–65 km at 1480–1400 °C and 55–45 km at 1360–1320 °C. Crystallization of the melts occurred at a shallow depth of 12–4 km with a decrease in temperature from 1185 to 1125 ºС. This occurrence of basic melt sources at two different depths, as well as the heterogeneity of the chemical composition of melt inclusions and their host minerals explains the presence of two pulses of Devonian basic magmatism. Our new numerical thermomechanical model of magma rise during melting of the lithospheric mantle above a mantle plume supports the existence of two chambers at the spinel–garnet peridotite boundary and under the base of the crust, as well as the two-stage nature of Devonian magmatism.

Isotopic signatures of snow, sea ice, and surface seawater in the central Arctic Ocean during the MOSAiC expedition

The Arctic Ocean is an exceptional environment where hydrosphere, cryosphere, and atmosphere are closely interconnected. Changes in sea-ice extent and thickness affect ocean currents, as well as moisture and heat exchange with the atmosphere. Energy and water fluxes impact the formation and melting of sea ice and snow cover. Here, we present a comprehensive statistical analysis of the stable water isotopes of various hydrological components in the central Arctic obtained during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition in 2019–2020, including the understudied Arctic winter. Our dataset comprises >2200 water, snow, and ice samples. Snow had the most depleted and variable isotopic composition, with δ18O (–16.3‰) increasing consistently from surface (–22.5‰) to bottom (–9.7‰) of the snowpack, suggesting that snow metamorphism and wind-induced transport may overprint the original precipitation isotope values. In the Arctic Ocean, isotopes also help to distinguish between different sea-ice types, and whether there is a meteoric contribution. The isotopic composition and salinity of surface seawater indicated relative contributions from different freshwater sources: lower δ18O (approximately –3.0‰) and salinities were observed near the eastern Siberian shelves and towards the center of the Transpolar Drift due to river discharge. Higher δ18O (approximately –1.5‰) and salinities were associated with an Atlantic source when the RV Polarstern crossed the Gakkel Ridge into the Nansen Basin. These changes were driven mainly by the shifts within the Transpolar Drift that carried the Polarstern across the Arctic Ocean. Our isotopic analysis highlights the importance of investigating isotope fractionation effects, for example, during sea-ice formation and melting. A systematic full-year sampling for water isotopes from different components strengthens our understanding of the Arctic water cycle and provides crucial insights into the interaction between atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean and their spatio-temporal variations during MOSAiC.

Сизифов камень амурского вопроса (административная реформа 1884 г. на страницах «Восточного обозрения»)

The article explores newspaper The Eastern Review’s point of view in connection of the Amur General Government creation. The edition, giving floor to all the participants of the discussion regardless of their judgment, nevertheless, definitely stated its own look at the problem: need for new General Government including Transbaikal Region and uselessness of Eastern Siberian General Government.

Morphotypical and Geochemical Variations of Planktic Foraminiferal Species in Siberian and Central Arctic Ocean Core Tops

Abstract In this work, we utilize a transect of core top, mid- to late Holocene, sediments from the Eastern Siberian Sea to the central Arctic Ocean, spanning gradients in upper-ocean water column properties, to examine regional planktic foraminiferal species abundances and geochemistry. We present species- and morphotype-specific foraminiferal assemblages at these sites and stable isotope analyses of neogloboquadrinids. We find little variation in planktic species populations, and only small variations in N. pachyderma morphotype distributions, between sites. Spatial averages of N. pachyderma morphotype and N. incompta δ18O values show no significant differences, suggesting a similar calcification depth for all morphotypes of N. pachyderma and N. incompta across our sites, which we estimate to be between ∼ 50–150 m. Values of δ18O of a group of unencrusted specimens delineate a shallower calcification habitat. Neogloboquadrina pachyderma-2 Mg/Ca values yield temperatures outside the range of observations using available calibration equations, pointing toward the need for more Arctic-specific Mg/Ca-temperature calibrations.

Model of the Gold-Bearing Placer Formation in Platform Areas (Eastern Siberian Platform)

Model of the Gold-Bearing Placer Formation in Platform Areas (Eastern Siberian Platform)

Resilience and high compositional variability reflect the complex response of river waters to global drivers: The Eastern Siberian River Chemistry database

The chemical composition of river waters represents an important matter of investigation to understand environment modifications in response to climate changes and global warming. Prolonged dry periods, heavy flood events, degradation of the lands and ice thawing, modify the chemical composition of river waters influencing the drivers governing the complex dynamics of river catchments where everything comes together. In this framework, Compositional Data Analysis (CoDA) offers methods in which the complex structure of the river water composition and the interrelationships among the various components are put into the proper context for their statistical analysis. In this research, we propose a new CoDA approach combining the robust Mahalanobis distance (D) calculus of ilr-transformed chemical variables and the perturbation difference, both with respect to a pristine compositional benchmark. The aim was to trace the change in the chemical composition of the Eastern Siberian River Chemistry Database where degradation of the permafrost for global warming produces important effects on natural waters. The findings indicate complex multiplicative laws and feedback mechanisms governing solutes in Eastern Siberian rivers, with high values of D found where permafrost is more discontinuous. Perturbations clearly discriminate chemical components more resilient to stresses induced by global changes (Ca2+, Mg2+ and HCO3−) from those whose variability is not maintained under control (Cl−, Na+, SO42−). These outcomes open up a new scenario in searching for spatiotemporal resilience metrics to reveal rivers response to environmental changes.

Wildfire precursors show complementary predictability in different timescales

In most of the world, conditions conducive to wildfires are becoming more prevalent. Net carbon emissions from wildfires contribute to a positive climate feedback that needs to be monitored, quantified, and predicted. Here we use a causal inference approach to evaluate the influence of top-down weather and bottom-up fuel precursors on wildfires. The top-down dominance on wildfires is more widespread than bottom-up dominance, accounting for 73.3% and 26.7% of regions, respectively. The top-down precursors dominate in the tropical rainforests, mid-latitudes, and eastern Siberian boreal forests. The bottom-up precursors dominate in North American and European boreal forests, and African and Australian savannahs. Our study identifies areas where wildfires are governed by fuel conditions and hence where fuel management practices may be more effective. Moreover, our study also highlights that top-down and bottom-up precursors show complementary wildfire predictability across timescales. Seasonal or interannual predictions are feasible in regions where bottom-up precursors dominate.

Climate warming enhances chemical weathering in permafrost-dominated eastern Siberia

Understanding the impacts of climate warming on hydrogeochemical processes, particularly in areas dominated by permafrost, is crucial. However, the natural background levels of chemical components in eastern Siberian rivers from permafrost-dominated regions and their responses to climate warming have not been adequately quantified. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by using a comprehensive river water chemistry database (n = 1264) spanning from 1940 to 2019. Our results reveal that the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS), a key parameter of drinking water quality, in river basins predominantly free of permafrost (194.6 ± 256.4 mg/L) is approximately 2.3 times higher than in permafrost-dominated river basins (83.7 ± 35.8 mg/L) in eastern Siberia. These observations imply potential shifts in freshwater quality resulting from permafrost degradation. We further detect that carbonate weathering, which plays a fundamental role in the global carbon cycle, is a predominant process controlling hydrogeochemical cycles. (Ca2+ + Mg2+) concentrations as a proxy for carbonate weathering intensity are sensitive to climate warming, increasing at a rate of 0.10 mmol/(L·°C). This finding provides evidence that the current acceleration of carbonate weathering, driven by climate warming, is already influencing local water quality. Additionally, (Ca2+ + Mg2+) concentrations and TDS are highly interrelated with temperature-dependent variables (e.g., active layer thickness of permafrost and leaf area index) and basin erosion-controlling factors (e.g., precipitation, elevation and slope of basin). Under a warming climate, river chemical fluxes (e.g., export of TDS and major ions) increase notably, especially during the winter, indicating an increase in mineral-laden groundwater discharge to rivers due to permafrost degradation. Our results demonstrate that climate warming is accelerating hydrogeochemical processes in permafrost-dominated Arctic basins.

Highly restricted near‐surface permafrost extent during the mid-Pliocene warm period

Accurate understanding of permafrost dynamics is critical for evaluating and mitigating impacts that may arise as permafrost degrades in the future; however, existing projections have large uncertainties. Studies of how permafrost responded historically during Earth's past warm periods are helpful in exploring potential future permafrost behavior and to evaluate the uncertainty of future permafrost change projections. Here, we combine a surface frost index model with outputs from the second phase of the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project to simulate the near-surface (~3 to 4 m depth) permafrost state in the Northern Hemisphere during the mid-Pliocene warm period (mPWP, ~3.264 to 3.025 Ma). This period shares similarities with the projected future climate. Constrained by proxy-based surface air temperature records, our simulations demonstrate that near-surface permafrost was highly spatially restricted during the mPWP and was 93 ± 3% smaller than the preindustrial extent. Near-surface permafrost was present only in the eastern Siberian uplands, Canadian high Arctic Archipelago, and northernmost Greenland. The simulations are similar to near-surface permafrost changes projected for the end of this century under the SSP5-8.5 scenario and provide a perspective on the potential permafrost behavior that may be expected in a warmer world.

Ancient Aeolian Reservoirs of the East Siberia Craton

Fine-grained strata deposited on the Eastern Siberian craton are predominantly considered to mainly consist of Neoproterozoic sandstones. Clastic rocks near the unconformity border of the Ediacaran and the Riphean are represented by sandstone and siltstone layers with thicknesses of several tens of meters, belonging to the Nepa, Tira, and Byuk horizons in the Nepa–Botuoba region. These Neoproterozoic sandstones have features characteristic of aeolianites formed under the action of high wind velocity in the Ediacaran period. Sandstone samples near the Riphean–Ediacaran boundary were collected from five deep wells and characterized for granulometry and mineral composition using optical microscopy, XRD, SEM, and ICP-MS techniques. These sandstones have a high proportion of quartz (60–98%) with minor amounts of feldspars, carbonate, and sulfate cements. Thin sections of the sandy rocks feature bimodal distributions of the grains throughout many sections, with large well-rounded quartz grains being several orders of magnitude greater than the silt matrix grains. The monomineralic quartz rocks have an overgrowth of quartz grains. These rocks can be petroleum reservoirs with good porosity and permeability, but in most of the studied intervals, a high content of anhydrite and dolomite interstitial cement significantly reduces both. The porosity of the rocks is low, while the permeability is very low, which may be associated with a significant amount of clay and cement material. Aeolianites normally contain large amounts of bimodal quartz (due to its high stability and resistance to weathering) and possess the presence of heavy minerals.

Очень ранний сорт сои Забава

A very early soybean variety Zabava was selected from the hybrid combination F4 Slavia × EU Mentor by traits of increased cold resistance, drought resistance and reduced reaction for the length of the day. The Zabava variety belongs to a very early group of maturity, at the latitude of Krasnodar (45°) it matures in 94 days, and in yield is not inferior to the Puma standard variety. At the latitude of Samara (53°), it matures in 95 days, and the yield significantly exceeds the Samer 3 standard variety. In 2022, in a competitive variety test in the Krasnodar region, its yield was 2.51 t/ha; in a competitive test in the Samara region, it was 3.33 t/ha. The height of the plants of the Zabava variety at the latitude of Krasnodar averaged 74 cm. In the Samara region, at latitude 53°, the height of plants of the Zabava variety increased slightly to 87 cm. High resistance to low air and soil temperatures in the germination phase, and increased yield in long-day conditions characterizes the new soybean variety Zabava. This allows it to be cultivated in soybean-producing farms in the Central Chernozem, North Caucasus, Middle Volga, Low Volga, Ural, Western Siberian and Eastern Siberian regions of the Russian Federation.

Литературный истерн как художественное открытие П. К. Белецкого

The study explores genre genesis of “literary eastern”, formed in the work of P. K. Beletsky at the beginning of the 1910s, ahead of the appearance of its cinematic twin, in cultural and historical aspects. The Russian writer, who, to a certain extent, took into account the experience of creators of the Western westerns, created an “archaic” of the genre type of eastern that received further development in Russian literature and culture. The genre specificity of such works of Beletsky, traditionally defined as “novel” in the writer’s metapoetics, is manifested in the creation of a “frontier” situation, a narrative expression of cultural interaction between “civilization” and the “wild” world of the uncharted Eastern Siberian region of Russia. Unlike Western westerns, the Russian version of this type of literary work embodies the idea of achieving “common good” rather than individual egoistic success with the prospects of socially progressive and humanistic transformations. Beletsky's eastern laid the traditions of a large epic form, tracing back to the constructions of the novel type, characterized by a pronounced novelistic task, contamination of intensive (acuity of action, action scenes) and extensive (description of everyday life, wide distribution of the action) principles of constructing the plot, the homogeneousness of artistic situations, “scenaricity”, “cinematographic frameness”, ethical polarization in the character system, determination to depict “exceptional” characters and circumstances. The poetics of Beletsky’s literary eastern had an impact on the formation of “narrative formulas” of the corresponding cinema genre.

A database of water chemistry in eastern Siberian rivers

Permafrost degradation leads to considerable changes in river ecosystems. The Eastern Siberian River Chemistry (ESRC) database was constructed to create a spatially extensive river chemistry database to assess climate warming-induced changes in freshwater systems in permafrost-dominated eastern Siberia. The database includes 9487 major ion (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, SO42− and HCO3−) data of chemical results from 1434 water samples collected mainly in six large river basins in eastern Siberia spanning 1940–2019. Data were obtained from public databases, scientific literature in English and Russian, and researchers and were formatted with a consistent table structure. The database is transparent and reproducible. Climate variable (air temperature and precipitation) data, discharge data, trace element concentration data, and isotope data at the basin and subbasin scales are also provided. This database enhances knowledge about the water chemistry of the permafrost region, especially in eastern Siberia, where data are scarce. The database will be useful to those assessing spatiotemporal changes in river water chemistry associated with permafrost degradation or other environmental stressors in a warmer climate.

Earliness and morphotypes of common wheat cultivars of Western and Eastern Siberia.

The global and local climate changes determine the producing of highly-adaptive common (bread) wheat commercial cultivars of a new generation whose optimal earliness matches the climatic features of the territory where the cultivars are farmed. Principal component analysis involving our own and published data has been applied to investigate 98 commercial common wheat cultivars from Western and Eastern Siberia comparing their morphotypes; cultivar zoning time; length of the vegetation period; 1000-grain weight, and inheritance of spring growth habit. It demonstrated that the dominant Vrn gene polymorphism determining the spring growth habit of the Siberian cultivars was minimally polymorphic. In 75 % of the tested cultivars, the spring growth habit was controlled by digenic, namely dominant Vrn-A1 and Vrn-B1 genes. In 25 % of them (24 cultivars), spring growth habit is controlled by a single gene. In 19 and 5 of these cultivars spring growth habit is controlled by only one dominant gene, Vrn-B1 or Vrn-A1, respectively. In cv. Tulun 15, a trigenic control was identified. A conclusion about the optimality of the digenic control for the climatic conditions of both Western and Eastern Siberia has been confirmed. However, since none of the tested cultivars had the dominant Vrn-D1 gene typical of the regions of China and Central Asia bordering Siberia, it can be considered as an additional argument in favor of the European origin of Siberian common wheat cultivars. The revealed high frequency of the Vrn-B1c allele in the Western Siberian cultivars and the Vrn-B1a allele in the Eastern Siberian cultivars suggests their selectivity. The analysis also confirmed the dominance of red glume (ferrugineum, milturum) and awned spike (ferrugineum, erythrospermum) varieties in the Eastern Siberian cultivars, and white glume and awnedless spike (lutescens and albidum) ones in the Western Siberian cultivars. Small grain size cultivars are more typical of Eastern than Western Siberia. The retrospective analysis based on the cultivars' zoning time included in the "State Register for Selection Achievements Admitted for Usage" brought us to the conclusion that the earliness/lateness of modern Siberian commercial cultivars was not regionally but rather zonally-associated (taiga, subtaiga, forest-steppe and steppe zones).

Biofuel Technologies and Petroleum Industry: Synergy of Sustainable Development for the Eastern Siberian Arctic

This article is a compilation of interdisciplinary studies aimed at ensuring the environmental, political, and economic sustainability of oil and gas-producing countries with a focus on areas with many years of permafrost. One of the main concepts adopted in this research was the desire to show that confronting various energy lobbies is not mandatory and that it is necessary to find compromises by finding and introducing innovative technologies for integrated development for the benefit of society, industry, and the state. This is particularly relevant due to the increasing share of hard-to-recover hydrocarbon reserves, widely represented in the fields of the Eastern Siberian Arctic, and because Russia is the leader in flare emissions. We thus present the relevance of using these gases as industrial waste while reducing the carbon footprint. The technology of biofuel production based on the use of supercritical liquid extraction in a well extractor is presented as a result of the development of the presented experimental devices representing the investigation of the processes of extraction in wells and reactors for the distillation of hydrocarbons from heavy oil components. The obtained yield of the desired product (hydrogen) of the thermocatalytic pyrolysis of the test extract was in the range of 44 to 118 L/h, depending on the catalyst. This information can help inform the direction of future ecological engineering activities in the Eastern Siberian Arctic region.

The State of Towns and the Urban Population of Eastern Siberia in the 1850s–1880s: Based on the Materials of Reports of Loyal Governors-General

The article considers informative information about the cities and urban population of Eastern Siberia in the post-reform period based on the materials of the most comprehensive reports of the governors-general. The reports reflected the main problems of Eastern Siberian towns: small number of the population, budget deficit, underdevelopment of urban economy, poor medical care, unsatisfactory sanitary condition and a significant lag behind cities of Central Russia. The backwardness of Eastern Siberian towns was explained by the fact that they did not arise as commercial and industrial centers but administrative points necessary for the management of the region. Identifying the main causes of high mortality of the population, the governors-general made proposals for improvement of health care and urban residents’ quality. The inertia and underdevelopment of most of Eastern Siberian towns was explained by the slow development of the vast territory. The restoration of the urban economy was carried out by own forces with the support of charitable societies, patrons and the local administration. Almost all heads of the region showed concern about the negative role of criminal exile on ordinary people’s lives. Special attention in the reports was paid to the problem of accommodation and employment of exiles in towns. These reports became evidence of the loyal governors-general’s concern about the unsatisfactory state of health service and education in the region. The repeated appeals of the governors-general to the highest authorities on improving the health service and education system did not receive support. The most comprehensive reports are a valuable source for studying the history of cities in the era of modernization.